Honda CR-V Maintenance and Repair

kizhe

I said: "And what is Honda thinking? Are they waiting for multi-million lawsuit, when somebody will be burned alive?"
I mean it. I believe that, if I will be 'honda', I would IMMEDIATELY RUSH TO THE PLACE OF FIRE and (at any cost) find the cause. Do you think it was so difficult for Honda "experts" to find the cause? Is this is a rocket science? (They found the reason of Columbia fire in space). It would be very beneficial to many parties and Honda itself the most. If this was the fault of the "grease monkey" - then say so, and stop panic among potential customers. If this was a design fault, quickly recall or instruct dealers what's wrong.
Only imagine, if this story would break to media: like to CBS or ABC investigative report???
The sales would drop dramatically after that.
Nobody in the right mind would ever buy CR-V.
WHAT IS HONDA THINKING????

sabrina9

Jpalinkas. Congrats. You are NUMBER 7. What state are you in? PLEASE FILE NHTSA REPORT at www.nhtsa.gov tonite. Its easy. That is the only thing that will solve this. Yours is the 1st 04.

Splitor. What state are you in. Under what category did you file your report.

Both of you may contact me at my email
Let's see, price to fix this - maybe 50 cents a filter (if gasket problem), So far, about 200,000 in fires. That's a good return.

You are lucky you changed your oil at 2500 miles. Less depreciation.
This is SAD, VERY SAD - but I feel vindicated. Honda should do something. That's 3 we know of in a month.

Sorry this isn't A grease monkey problem. It would have to be several grease monkeys and that would be surprising

stevedebi

I was speaking of the liability issue - who is at fault. I suspect that Honda IS rushing to find out what is going on. Not because of potential lawsuits, but because they care about a quality product.

Does anyone know if all these vehicles were built in England vs. Japan?

Note that the owners link recommends waiting as long as possible before the first oil change, due to the special "break in" oil. I had mine done at 7000 miles.

I think that the NHTSA website address is actually http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

sabrina9

The 4 previous to the two posted were all made in England. One additional I have no VIN, and then there are the two posted, which I hope they will fill us in on.

They have ALL been EX's and once again - after the first oil change. There has to be an answer. Believe me I still don't believe it....If Honda wants to contact me and talk, they know where to find me, but they have just said no to everything I wanted. (which was only a replacement vehicle). I ain't changing my oil until this is solved.

I am SOOOOOO glad they did not settle with me. I may be out 2k (temoprarily), but if they paid me I would not have posted which means many of you would not have known what was going on. If Honda is trying to find a problem they should start by interviewing those who had the problem...

stevedebi

I'm glad you did post, maybe there is something that needs to be known.

I kinda had a feeling they might all be from one country, wonder if the rest were also. Were they all in the northeast of the US? The cold weather may have caused people to use the heater at higher settings.

sabrina9

The 4 original were all from the New England, but it could not be the heater. One burned in July (one in Sept, mine in October - hardly cold weather months and one in December). One I don't know, then we have the other two.

jpalinkas

The '04 CRV EX manual suggests that you get an oil change at 1500 miles. I'm sure there's an explanation in the book but IT BURNT UP IN THE FIRE....
The temperature here in NY was about 6 degrees farenheit with a wind chill of about 20 below. Cold indeed. Heat was blasting. I will file a complaint with NHTSA, even though I'm not aware of what these initials actually stand for (yet).

sabrina9

Jpalinkas

NHTSA is the NAtional Highway transportation safety administartion. They are the ones that start the investigations and recalls. The previous ones are under CRV (and CR-V), engines and cooling (and electrical-front underhood). It will amke sense when you get there. Yours will be the 5th on the site, but the first 04. It's numbers game. Once they get enough of these they will HOPEFULLY do something. I see you are NY. That means 5 so far have been in the Northeast. I'll bet yours was made in the UK - does it have a U in the VIN?
Keep watching this site and updating everyone and let your insurance company know there are others and print the stuff off the site. If you need further info email me privately. I have been at this 4 months and have been collecting lots of info. My lawsuit comes up in the spring.

andrelaplume

Someone should post a few of these in the CRV forum to keep others aware...I predict this will be Honda;s sludge issue....also, I told you guys to call local tv new stations ot get the word out and emabarrass Honda into revealing the truth...I wish you all the best!

stevedebi

I doubt very much that Honda knows the "truth" about what caused these fires. Really, we get so used to the American car companies who don't care about their product that we forget there are some car companies out to make a quality car, not just a buck. IMHO, Honda is such a company.

splitor

sabrina9, Jpalinkas.

I am in Boston, Massachusetts. The morning the fire happened, the weather was in the low teens. The weather might have been one of the many possible factors that caused this mysterious fire on my 2003 CR-V EX 4WD 5-speed.

What I have done/filed:
1.) I filed a claim with my auto insurance company, and is pending the investigation result.

2.) I contacted Honda Customer Relation. And I am also pending their investigation result. Here is Honda Customer Relation contact information.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Automobile Customer Service
1919 Torrance Boulevard
Mail Stop: 500-2N-7D
Torrance, CA 90501-2746
Phone: 1800-999-1009 (9am-5pm PST)
Fax: 310-783-3023 (24 hours)

3.) I filed a complaint with NHTSA.

We should all stay tight and get this mysterious fire resolved before someone/people get injured.
I will let you all know once I have any result(s) back from either Honda or my insurance company.

saber86

" doubt very much that Honda knows the "truth" about what caused these fires. Really, we get so used to the American car companies who don't care about their product that we forget there are some car companies out to make a quality car, not just a buck. IMHO, Honda is such a company. "

Yeah thats why honda kept dragging their feet and would not admit to having transmission problems with odyssey and some acura models. Honda only came clean after much pressure from media and public interest groups.

I have a feeling honda will drag their feet on this issue until someone is seriously injured or killed.

I better keep a closer eye on my wifes 02 on this issue not to mention its already had to go in for 3rd recall.

sabrina9

With Splitors MA connection, that means 5 have been in New England, with the 6th in NY. 7th unknown. 3 in Mass alone (but so far not the same dealer). the Northeast Rep must be dense (and busy) not to start seeing a connection. Would think he would be "re-examining" them - like the cold case squad....

That likely means they were all made in UK.....

kyfdx

about changing the oil at 1500 miles.. Lets please stick to the facts. The factory recommended service interval is 10K, with 5K for severe service.

regards,
kyfdx

jpalinkas

on the check-off envelope for service. Our salesman suggested getting an early change to my husband. Why? Not sure.
splitor- we did tell our insurance co. about these other incidents and I gave them this web site. They were very interested.
We await Honda's investigation of our burnt-up car. We will keep you all posted.

stevedebi- I feel kind of the same way as far as not jumping on the "they're trying to pull a fast one" band wagon, which is why we are not making any offensive moves . We don't even know what they're going to tell us yet. I'm hoping they'll realize there's a trend happening here, and do the right thing, whatever this may be. Plus i hate law suits.
Although if I wasn't being given fair treatment & consideration, like it seems with sabrina's case, I might feel differently.

autosaurus

autosaurus

My dealer told me not to do the first change before 5,000 miles.

I'm actually a little apprehensive about getting the oil changed at all until my Honda dealer tells me they've heard of the problem. My dealer keeps telling me they know of no fires. Not sure I want them changing my oil.

I bought the car in NJ. Someone mentioned that the cars involved in the fires were built in England?. Not sure this matters if it's the oil filter. Are NJ/NY cars built in England? I thought they were built in the US?

Is anyone taking any precautions with their dealer when getting the oil changed?

Thanks

kizhe

In August 03 Honda issued throttle cable & A/T shift cable recalls.
Anybody heard any complains about these problems at NHTSA sites
or elsewhere, or these problems are totally hypothetical?

sabrina9

Remember, when I started, no one believed there was a trend (or even a problem) since I was only the second one known(turns out I was the third). Now it is different. I may call Honda on Tuesday and mention what I know. I still think Honda is going to try to beg off. Honda told me they never heard of the problem. Sorry, guys...Ever heard of the internet?
Check your VIN number. If there is a U in it (about 5 or six digits from the right), it was built in the UK.

If I really had to get an o/c now I would ask for the filter back (and check the gasket on the one they take off). Also, before you take it on the road, drive it around in circles on their lot for a few miles before you go on the road. If it burns, they'll get the point (LOL).

saber86

Actually, in order to determine where the vehicle was manufactured you have to look at the first digit on the vin#...If it was made in england it would start with S..

made in japan starts with J

sabrina9

As saber says, the 1st digit is where the car was manufacturered- S is England. The 11th character is where the car was assembled. Where there are only two plants for Honda CRV, probably doesn't matter since I figure they would say the same thing -but I think U is the designation for England in that case, but for large run cars might be different.
Also, you can go www.carfax.com and type in you VIN number and it will tell you where it was built. It's free.

I went to the original 4 (before the last two posts), just to make sure on the 1st number. They all say S, so unless the last two are different, it is still the trend.

autosaurus

just checked mine.. starts with an S and has the U in it also..
Thanks

inkie

I am sure others besides Isellhondas monitor these forums. Now that an insurance adjuster mentioned the gasket as a cause according to the last person that had the fire, lets sit back and see what transpires.

tomk17

I'm approaching 5K miles on my Massachusetts (Natick) 04 CRV and it's time for an oil change. I'm mechanical so I'm thinking I have a better chance of not ending up with a torched V if I do it myself. I plan to pay careful attention to the gasket and any spilled oil. I figure the Ins payout is the same if it smokes on my watch or the dealers. I think I'll put a fire extinguisher in it just in case... Wish me luck!

stevedebi

Well, the odds are low; in that same period since last July, there have been tens of thousands of successful first oil changes.

icvci

I've changed it twice in our V and, spilled oil all over the place. No problems here.

kyfdx

this morning.. for my 5th oil change. They said that checking to make sure old gaskets are removed is part of any oil change. They had not heard about any fires related to CRVs, but said if oil is pouring out of the engine after maintenance, it sounds like incompetent mechanics. 25K and going strong on mine.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

Had the throttle cable and AT cable recall repairs both done... Parts weren't available for the ingnition interlock recall. All done in one hour total.

robmarch

this could indeed be an issue specific to the CRV if the exhaust manifold or other "hot stuff" is routed closer to the oil filter than in other 2.4L applications.

I haven't checked out any of the other 2.4L's to compare, though, so this is just speculation.

it could also be more difficult for a tech to inspect for a double gasket on this packaged engine than other 2.4L's.

sabrina9

Do us one favor, when you take the filter off, just let us know if it came off easily with the filter or you had to scrape it off the engine. That would be a good piece of info

mrchuck

My CR-V is a 2000. The rear sags when passengers are in the back seat. The rear tires "splay out a bit. Handling and speed is fine, but I will need something to raise up the rear or make it stiffer when carrying a load or pulling a trailer.
Is there any product out there that I can buy, have installed.
The rear is McPherson struts on the rear(coil spring with a shock inside.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks, Chuck in Los Barriles, BCS Mexico.

fox122

Hi, I had just got my new honda crv 2004 LX today. My question is, in the owner's manual page 72, it specify, "To unlock the driver's door from the outside, turn the key and release it. If you TURN and HOLD it, ALL doors and the tailgate unlock." I tried it but only the driver's door open, the other doors still lock. I wonder if this is the owner's manual mistake or if there this a problem with my door lock. I had seen the some previous post from different member with the same problem, but there was no reply to that post. Could someone help me verify this before i take it to the dealer to have it check. Thanks in advance.

kizhe

I did oil change myself several times.
Gasket never stuck to the surface: I used a tool
to start unscrewing filter. After that I examine the mating surface(visually and manually - you can do it in your own garage with no elevator - really easy), Then I clean mating surface with rug, oil the gasket of a new filter and screw it in. After gasket touch the surface I keep turning it about 3/4 turn. This is basically enough, but Honda recommends to use a torque wrench to make sure the torque is right(very small) - so I do it also: not a big difference: 3/4 turn is about right.
Then I do a test drive and examine filter and oil plug again to be sure there is no leak.
The only trick here is to do 'filter job' the NEXT day - after draining the oil overnight from oil plug hole - the 'time luxury' I can afford.
The next day I can 'stick' my face in, and wearing safety glasses and having a bright lamp, I can examine filter easily.
Again: at no time, while changing the filter, my old gasket stuck to mating surface, but even if it would, I could easily detect it and take it off.
The reason I do b/c myself: I simply have no TIME to go and wait at dealerships. Everybody can do it - it’s really easy.

sabrina9

Doesn't seem anything is unusual in the o/c. There HAS to be a reason why 6 different dealers in the Northeast have completely forgotten how to do an o/c all of a sudden. Can't be Patriots fever, because one was in NY.

I know they started selling the new filters in September, according to a recent post. Does anyone know when they started putting them on new cars ?(probably long before they were available at retail). Anybody who had an early 03 notice if it was the new filter or the old filter?

Jpalinkas - Did you file an NHTSA? I can't find it, but the site is not easy to navigate. Where do you file it under...thnx

uva1972

My daughter has a 2003 Honda CRV with approx. 8,000 miles. She had the recall service and o/c about two months ago. On 16 January she was driving in a residential area, when she experienced power failure and pulled off the road. A passerby stopped her and told her the car was on fire. The oil light, then battery light came on, followed by activation of the power door locks. Smoke was coming out from the hood and undercarriage, and sparks were visible. A huge oil leak was present under the front end. A strong electrical smell was present. The fire department responded and disconnected the battery. The auto dealership said it was a failure of the "O-ring in the filter housing area." Repairs to the transmission wiring harness, sensors, etc. were required. We pick the car up tomorrow. Seems that there is a pattern here, and I plan on reporting this to NHTSA tomorrow, after speaking with the dealership.

stevedebi

And I'm due for my second oil change this week. I downloaded the NHTSA database and found only 3 car fires mentioned for the CR-V. Hopefully everyone will get on the ball and file those reports!

inkie

I do most of the servicing on my own and I and others on other sites noticed that Honda changed the manufacturer to Fram from Filtech. I personally liked the Filtech for many reasons which I won't go into now. My advice to all is to get your oil changes elsewhere or do it yourself amd make sure the filters are not the ones in question until this is resolved. If you want to use a dealer I am sure if you bring a WIX, NAPA Gold or a PURE-ONE to a Honda dealer they will use it.

mikefm58

"O-ring in the filter housing area."

Dumb question, Is that the oil filter gasket? Thank God your daughter didn't get hurt and your CRV wasn't totalled. Were the repairs covered under warranty?

kizhe

How do I know, do I have a 'new' or an 'old' filter?
Somewhere in September I droped in a Honda dealership in CT. I wanted to buy Honda oil (5W-20)and a filter. The clerk at the store sold me
oil and suggested me to buy 3 filters (rather than
just one). So I did. He said that filters were on 'sale' ($5 each) .
I was a bit surprised (You do not have much 'sales' at Honda). Now after getting info about a 'new' filter, I think that they, probably, were trying to get rid of the 'old' ones.
They, probably, knew (but I did not) that smth was
wrong with the old ones? (sounds like I am a bit paranoid :-)?
Hey, we have a conspiracy here :-) !!!
The question: Why did Honda made that change?
For convenience or because of safety issues?
Somebody know new/old Honda filters types/ codes?

kizhe

Looks like we have fire problems with oil filter gaskets ( O - rings) not 'double' gaskets. By some reason these rubber gaskets fail. I believe Honda filter gaskets are no better or worst than any other gaskets.
Simply OTHER cars would not burn if gasket fails,
and CR-V does.
What do you think?

stevedebi

From the information posted, we don't know if it was the primary gasket that failed, or simply that the investigator found that oil leaked from the filter - which could have been the double gasket problem. We are assuming the investigator checked for double gaskets, but perhaps not.

The point about burning when the gasket fails is well put, but no car is designed with the failure of any part in mind. It also may have to do with the way it fails. Nevertheless, there should never be a "cascading failure", in which one part causes another part to fail, and so on, until the entire car is destroyed.

Heck, we are still speculating that it IS the gasket in all these cases (but it seems probable).

inkie

Kizhe, if you look at the filters either Filtech {older model} or Fram will be imprinted on the body.

Stevedebi one of your posts mentions only three people reported the fires to NHTSA. Is that not strange? I would think thats the first place they would go and not this message board. I am not making light of this serious matter but maybe we have some spoofers reporting.

kizhe

are: FRAM: 15400-PLM-A02.
I bought them at Honda dealership.
Already used two of them - no problems.
This weekend I am planning to use the 3rd.
These are 'new' or 'old' ?

inkie

The Fram filters are the new ones.

stevedebi

I have not written up a report there, but their data is strange. For example, the same incident will be reported multiple times if it affected several subsystems. I think that a search revealed 6 incidents, but upon looking at the descriptions, there were only 3 actual incidents - the others were duplicates. This is the reason I downloaded the raw data - to figure out exactly what was happening.

If entering information is half as confusing as interpreting the information, I'm surprised any vehicle ever gets recalled.

sabrina9

Agree the site is VERY confusing. But here are the facts. There are 4 unique fires reported on the website so far (that I knwo of). They are under CRV "engine and engine cooling" and "electrical-front underhood". Then go to CR-V for the other two -same compomnent. There is a duplicate (which happens to be mine-have no idea why since I did not file it under that component). That's 4.
There is one that is not one the website, but will be soon (it was never posted to this site). That is DEFINITELY not a spoof
That's 5. Then there is Jpalikas and UVA1972, but remmebr they only happeend a few days ago. That is 7. I am trying to find the owner of the eight. It was listed as a "03 CRV EX, engine compartment fire" The car had 3900 miles and was not one of the other 7. There you have it.

UVA1972. Please answer the following.
What model is car (ie, EX).
What state are you in (not shock, but actual location).
What does your VIN begin with
Who paid for the repairs (Honda or dealer).
Have you contactred Honda?
Let us know when you fill out th NHTSA-use the above as a guide

There you have it. No spoofing that I know of.

If anyone is guilty of trying to fool people, it is Honda.

uva1972

We just got back from the dealership, and the car is not repaired yet. Her CRV is a 2003 EX, and the VIN number, according to dealer, indicates the car was assembled in UK. We live in Virginia. The dealer advised that they would cover the cost of repairs (I presume since they performed all of the servicing to date). I provided them with a copy of some of the traffic on this site and they were quite interested. They plan on discussing the situation with the local Honda representative as a warranty claim. The car requires a new wiring harness, which was burned. We plan on sending a report to Honda directly, as well as the NHTSA, after we get the car back (probably next Monday). Hope this helps.

stevedebi

I didn't mean to imply any spoofing, just that people should be sure to go the the website and file a complaint.

The three fires were for 2nd generation models. I should have mentioned that there were 4 fires involving 2000 year models, and one involving a 2001 model. I found three fires in the model years later than 2001 (all fires were 2003 models). None of these 1st generation fires had any apparent commonalities.

Here is the list from the data download (includes all marked "CRV" or "CR-V" with the "Fire" column marked in the database), for 2nd Generation CR-V:

Ref Component

10045221 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

10042645 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

10051179 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

It is possible that they haven't updated their downloadable database, but I would think that it is updated when the main database is updated. Oh yeah, this was as of the day before yesterday, when I downloaded the file. It is over 170 Mb, so I don't intend to download it a lot. It's possible that your 4th fire was added since then...

In pursuing your claims, I recommend downloading the flat file database and importing it into a database program so you can sort and filter the data.

stevedebi

There are now 5 fires listed in the NHTSA database, all in the northeast, the 4 VINs listed are all from the UK plant.

The database is located at:
ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/Consumer_Complaints/

It is a flat file text database, about 44 Mb compressed, uncompresses to about 170 Mb.

tomk17

Are most of you folks reverting to the more standard 5W-30 grade oil rather than the 5W-20 factory oil? I plan to use Mobile 1 5W-30 when I do an o/c next weekend. The 5-20 stuff is out there but a bit harder to come by.